Non drip, non slip, non tip cup and saucer



1962 M. L. RAYMOND 3,067,904

NON DRIP, NON SLIP, 'NON TIP CUP AND SAUCER Filed Jung-23, 1961 a 2 E5 5 E 1 E\ SECTKDN A-A INVENTOR.

MALCOLM LRAYMOND WWW 19W ATTORNEY United States 3,067,904 NON DRIP, NON SLIP, NON TIP CUP AND SAUCER Malcohn L. Raymond; 88 Osborne St., Johnstown, Pa. Filed June 23, 1961, Ser. No. 119,227 2 Claims. (Ci. Eli-23.83)

This invention relates to dinnerware, the vessels and plates that people use in eating food and more particularly to cups and saucers. A cup usually is provided with a saucer, which is a dish on which the cup rests and which serves the purpose of catching any drippings from the cup so that they do not soil the table or tablecloth. The two, cup and saucer, are used together conventionally to such an extent that they are accepted as complementary pieces.

The common shape for a cup is that whereby its upper diameter is substantially larger than the lower diameter. The cup is usually made by throwing clay on a wheel. Clay is first thrown onto a rotating circular surface, the wheel and a skilled artisan works the clay with his fingers or an instrument while the wheel is spinning. The artisan forces the clay up on the sides forming the vessel which is symmetrical and circular in shape. In production, templates can be used to get identical shapes. The vessel is removed from the wheel and is ready to have the ear or handle attached. The ear is formed of clay in a separate operation and is joined to the cup, by wetting the ear and the side of the cup with what is called slip, a very wet thin mixture of clay. After the ear is attached to the cup, the clay is dried and then fired in a kiln.

The saucer is usually formed by throwing a lump of clay on the spinning wheel and a skilled artisan then works the clay with his hand, or with a template tool to achieve the desired shape of the saucer. The formed saucer is then removed from the wheel and allowed to dry and then fire-:l.

There is an annoyance attendant with using the cups and saucers that have the usual shapes and made in the usual way that can be avoided with my invention. This annoyance is due primarily to the shapes commonly used. The purpose of a saucer is to avoid spilling. However, after catching the liquid drippings that may spill from the cup, the saucer retains this liquid. Each time the cup is placed into the saucer it also touches the retained liquid, because in the common configuration the cup is located in the center of the saucer which is the very lowest point of that saucer. Saucers usually have a recessed circular center, which is designed just to fit around the outside of the edge of the bottom or" the cup. Thus the circular section into which the cup fits is the lowest surface of the saucer. Any liquid that spills from the cup collects first in this recessed circular section.

When a person intends to drink from a cup and lifts the cup out of the saucer to bring it to his lips, the liquid that has been contained by the saucer around the bottom of the cup then drips oii from the cup while the cup is held in the air. It is a continual annoyance to people drinking from a cup which has spilled some liquid into the saucer, and which the saucer has retained, to have liquid drops falling on their clothing while they are drink- One way to avoid this annoyance is to carry the saucer in one hand and positioning said saucer so that it is always directly under the cup. This means bringing the saucer up under ones chin with one hand when actually quaifing a drink from the cup, which is held by the other hand. This is an awkward procedure.

The recess provided in the saucer into which the cup is placed usually is of only a small difference in elevation. This contributes to an additional annoyance when carrying the cup and saucer by holding the saucer, as is the 3,6)6'1904 Patented Dec. 11, 1962 ice custom. If the saucer is tilted, the cup easily slides to one side or the other spilling liquid and causing annoyance. Also, it is easy for the cup to fall over on its side spilling its contents, or to slide entirely out of the saucer and fall to the floor and break.

It is an object of my invention to provide a cup and saucer whereby the saucer does catch drippings from the cup, but does not permit this collected liquid to touch the bottom of the cup from which it would drip when the cup is used in drinking.

It is another object of my invention to provide a cup and saucer whereby the cup does not easily slip and slide about the saucer when they are carried.

It is another object of my invention to provide a cup and saucer whereby the cup will not tip even though the saucer may be tilted at an angle where a vertical line through the center of gravity of the cup and contents is outside the bottom edge of the cup.

It is another object of my invention to provide a cup and saucer whereby the saucer functions to carry any liquid spilled from the cup away from the cup and retain the liquid in an area remote from the bottom of the cup.

It is an ancillary object of my invention to provide a. useful and attractive implement of utility and manufacture.

In accordance with my invention, I provide a cup and saucer whereby the cup is a vessel used to contain liquid which a person will drink. The cup can have an ear or protuberance attached to assist in grasping the cup.

The saucer is a circular dish that has a raised central portion about which the cup rests. This raised central portion provides a surface for the bottom of the cup that is higher than adjacent surfaces within the saucer. Any liquid draining oil the outside of the cup and running down into the saucer will run to the lower portions of the saucer that are removed from the bottom of the cup. The liquid will collect first in that portion of the saucer that has the lowest surface. This liquid can form a ring around the cup but at some distance from the cup, and not touching the cup, thereby not wetting the cup around the bottom. A person using this cup resting in such a saucer will not suffer the annoyance of having liquid drip on his lap or clothing while drinking from the cup.

The novel features that I consider characteristic of my invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its organization and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will best be understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation view in cross section of a cup and saucer with characteristics embodied in my invention.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view of the cup and saucer shown in elevation in FIGURE 1.

In accordance with my invention, the various elevations of the top surface of the saucer at different distances from the center of the saucer are expressed in FIGURE 1. The markings placed on the drawing use R to signify radius and the numbers 1 through 5 are used to show the different radii taken from the center line of the saucer. The capital E is used to signify elevation and the numbers 1 through 5 are used to identify the elevation of the upper surface of the saucer at the radius that has the same numeral. For instance, elevation E1 is that elevation of the top surface of the saucer at radius R1 from the center line of the saucer. In like manner E2 is the elevation of the top surface of the saucer at that distance from the center of the saucer shown as R2. Each of the elevations shown is thus related to that radius from the center line of the saucer.

In FIGURE 1 elevation E1 and all of the central porace-7,904

tion of the saucer is shown raised in elevation from surrounding area of that saucer. This central portion is raised in elevation, whereas saucers commonly made today have their central portion recessed. This raised central portion of the saucer places the cup and the bottom edge of the cup well above that surface of the saucer that surrounds the cup.

The very central portion of the saucer is convex looking down on the saucer from above. This convex inner circle extends from the centerline of the saucer out to the radius distance R1. All of the top surface of the saucer that is closer to the centerline than the radius distance R2 is higher in elevation than that of E1. The very center of the saucer is the highest elevation of this central region. The elevation of the top surface of the saucer is shown as E1 at the distance R1 from the centerline of the saucer. At this point the saucer is undercut slightly down to the elevation E2 of the ledge. That is, the outer edge R1 of the convex upper surface projects out over the surface of the ledge. E2 is the elevation of an annular ledge, or a circular ledge, all around the raised central portion of the saucer. This ledge forms the rest for the bottom of the cup.

The top surface of the saucer falls away rapidly beyond distance R2. The top surface of the saucer continues receding, going lower in elevation, out to a.distance R4. Here the elevation E4 is the lowest point of the top surface of the saucer. Beyond this distance from the centerline of the saucer, R4, and up to the extreme outer periphery of the saucer, R6, the elevation of the top surface of the saucer raises up to the point E6, the elevation at the extreme outer periphery.

FIGURE 1 also shows the consequence of liquid being retained by the saucer. It has been stated that elevation E4, which is the elevation at a distance R4, from the centerline of the saucer, is the lowest elevation of the top surface of the saucer. Any liquid draining off the cup will flow out to this radial distance, R4. As more liquid is caught by the saucer, the surface of the retained liquid will rise. In FIGURE 1 liquid has been collected by the saucer and the surface of that liquid is shown as elevation E3, which is the elevation of the liquid where it meets the top surface of the saucer at a radial distance R3 from the centerline of the saucer. This elevation E3, is the same as that elevation E5, which is the elevation of the liquid and that of the top surface of the saucer which it meets at distance R5 from the centerline of the saucer, because liquid seeks its own level. This liquid that has raised to a surface level E3--E5 is still far below the elevation E2, which is r the ledge on which the bottom of the cup rests. The liquid is collected in a ring that extends around and within the saucer but nowhere does the inner portion of this ring of liquid touch the cup that is resting on the saucer. There is a difference in radial distance between the bottom of the cup and the collected liquid in the saucer, and there is a difference in elevation from the bottom of the cup down to the highest surface of the top of the collected liquid.

This ring of collected liquid that extends all around the cup does not come near the bottom of the cup as can be seen in the plan view of FIGURE 2. The cup is in the center of the saucer, and any liquid that the saucer collects flows away from the cup seeking the lowest surface it can find in the saucer which is at a radial distance well away from the bottom of the cup.

The cup, which is shown in cross section elevation in FIGURE 1, is formed to fit onto the central portion of the saucer. Looking up at the bottom of the cup the undersurface of the cup will be concave. As shown in FIGURE 1 at the very center line of the cup, its bottom surface will be higher than it is at greater radial distances from the centerline. The lower surface of the cup moves lower in elevation, and there is a bottom edge around the lower periphery of the cup, which is shaped to rest in the ledge that is provided in the saucer. This ledge provided in the saucer has been described as having an elevation E2. As shown in FIGURE 1, the bottom edge of the cup also is undercut to mate with the undercut of the saucer. These cuts are scaled so that the cup can easily slip over the radial periphery R1 when placing the cup on the saucer. However, should the cup slide in any direction once it rests on the ledge, then its undercut will lock to that undercut of the saucer and stop the slide and also prevent the locked side of the cup from lifting off the ledge. This prevents the cup from tipping over when the cup and saucer are carried.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention the upper portion of the cup can be as shown, or it also can be cylindrical, or it can be as an inverted cone, or it can be irregular, or non-circular, in other embodiments. The loop shown in FIGURE 1, which is called the ear of the cup, can be as shown in FIGURE 1 in the preferred embodiment of my invention, or it can have other shapes in other embodiments of my invention.

In the preferred embodiment of my invention this cup and saucer are formed of clay by throwing the clay onto a wheel that is spinning and the shape being given to the clay by forcing it with a template while the clay is spinning around on the wheel. In other embodiments of my invention the clay can be shaped by throwing on a wheel by a skilled artisan or potter or other person forming the clay with hands. In other embodiments of my invention, the cup and saucer can be made of materials other than clay, and can be formed by casting, injection molding (as with plastics) or by other means to achieve the desired shape.

In accordance with another embodiment of my invention, the surface of the saucer between elevations E1 and E2 and the corresponding surface of the cup may be made vertical in order to facilitate the use of molds as for example, in the case of injection molding with plastics. In this embodiment as well as in the embodiment where the cup and the saucer are undercut, it is desirable that the vertical surfaces between the cup and saucer be unglazed or roughened so as to increase the coefficient of friction between the cup and the saucer thereby tending to prevent the cup from tipping over when the cup and saucer are tilted at small angles.

In accordance with the preferred embodiment of my invention the outer circumference of the cup bottom is slightly greater than the outer circumference of the ledge on which the cup rests. Thus, when liquid drops run down the sides of the cup they have a tendency to roll off freely into the outer moat of the saucer rather than being entrapped between the cup bottom and the ledge. To further encourage movement of drops of liquid towards the moat of the saucer, I provide in a preferred embodiment of my invention for the surface of the ledge on the saucer between R1 and R2 to be sloped downward when moving from R1 to R2 i.e., the ledge is sloped downward and outward. Since the cup is prevented from slipping off of the ledge by the projection of the saucer at R1, the fact that the surface of the ledge between R1 and R2 is sloped will not tend to cause the cup to upset. It is, therefore, possible with apparatus in accordance with my invention to use a sloped ledge to encourage drops of liquid to flow outward to the moat.

Although I have shown and described specific embodiments of my invention, I am aware that other modifications thereof are possible; my invention, therefore, is not to be restricted except insofar as is necessitated by the prior art and the spirit of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In combination: a saucer, a cup resting on said saucer, said saucer having a raised convex centerpiece surrounded by a ledge for supporting said cup, the sides of said centerpiece being undercut to said ledge, said cup having an indentation therein in the bottom therein cooperating with the said centerpiece on said saucer so as to receive said centerpiece and allow the bottom edges of said cup to rest on said ledge, said bottom edge of said cup also being undercut to mate with the undercut of said saucer above its ledge to restrain the cup from sliding and tilting over, the undercut of said cup and the undercut of said saucer cooperating in an interlocking manner to prevent tilting of said cup with respect to said saucer.

2. In combination, a separable cup and saucer, said saucer comprising an enlarged body portion that has a concave upper liquid catching surface that at least partially surrounds an elevated cup receiving portion, said cup receiving portion comprising a flat cup supporting surface portion that defines at least a partial periphery about an upwardly convex portion, and a downwardlyinwardly directed hooking surface extending between said flat and said convex surface portions; said cup having a wall that defines an upwardly open liquid receiving cavity and a bottom portion having on the underside thereof an annularly flat supporting surface for resting on said fiat surface of said saucer, a raised central surface for cooperatively receiving said convex central portion of said saucer, and an upwardly-outwardly inclined hooking portion for hook-engaging the hooking portion of said saucer thereby opposing the tendency for said cup to tip.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Brise Feb. 20, 1934 Watson July 24, 1956 Germany June 26, 1907 Great Britain Aug. 26, 1940 

